Quiet Games
While Anne Frank was in hiding, the activities had to be quiet. How could an adolescent be asked to remain quiet for two years? Have your class try some of the following quiet-time activities with this in mind. All of these games can be done without talking, or with communications by hand motions.
- Card toss--Split a deck of cards among two or more teams. Draw a large circle, and place a wastebasket in the center of the circle. The teams sit in groups around the circle and take turns tossing single cards into the wastebasket. A card which lands in the wastebasket scores a point for the team. Have the students do the toss in complete silence. Excess noise by any one team (regardless of who is throwing) erases a point for that team.
- Coin sort--Have a student sit at a table with a set of coins in different denominations. Ten to twenty coins are appropriate. Place a blindfold on the student and have him or her sort the coins into groups of pennies, nickels, dimes, etc. Use a set time such as 30 seconds. At the end of the time, the student scores a point if all of the coins are grouped correctly. Place the coins on a pad so there will be no noise.
- Chess--Yes, chess. Why not! It's coming back. Some say it has never left. Other board games can include too much talking. With chess you sit there and look, and watch, and think. Competitive kids love it--even the wise guys and show offs. And talk about an intellectual challenge! If you don't know how to play it yourself, then learn, or bring in some outside expertise and learn with the kids.
- Drawing in the Dark--Have your students draw a picture blindfolded. Surprisingly, they can often make pretty good renditions. Then have them share their drawings with the class.
- Games Anne played--Reading, writing, compiling family trees (royal families of Europe), studying history, art, music, French, English, taking a correspondence course in shorthand, experimenting with hairstyles, making dance outfits, and watching the sky.
- Make your own game--Place the burden of inventing games on the students. They are in the secret annex and they must make their own quiet games. Have a contest to have them come up with the best quiet game using only things in their bedroom at home. No trips to the store allowed. Suggestions for Games are as follows:
Tic/Tac/Toe
Hide and seek
Making paper dolls
Sewing
Creating your own crossword puzzles
Shadow puppets
Puzzles
Telephone (the game where you pass the word in a whisper and see how it changes)
- Quiet times for loud games--The following are loud games students could try to play as quietly as possible, just to experience how difficult it is to be quiet and not be bored.
Duck, Duck, Goose
Blindman's Bluff
Ring Around the Rosie
Capture the Flag
Charades
Musical Chairs
Any board game with dice
Any card game where you have to shuffle the cards